


Where did you find that?

by HyourinmaruIce



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Photography, Storytelling, Young, bed time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 12:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4101487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyourinmaruIce/pseuds/HyourinmaruIce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Steven finds an old photo, and Pearl tells him the story behind it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where did you find that?

           “Where did you find that?” Pearl smiles and gently takes the picture from his hands. It’s old, and the edges are frayed, but that doesn’t hide the smiles inside the black and white photo. It's Pearl and Rose, falling over each other laughing.

            Steven is young, turning five in a few days, and he grins at her like he found a treasure trove, “In Ame… Ameth …” He struggles for a few times before pouting at Pearl and pointing at the door that stood just behind the warp pad, “In there!”

            Pearl sighs, and if her hands were not occupied by the photo, she would be pressing her fingers against the bridge of her nose. Of course Amethyst had allowed him into her room.  It was dangerous in there, what was she thinking?

            Pearl kneels besides Steven, giving him a smile that shines, “You shouldn’t go in Amethyst’s room, it’s dangerous… but… do you want to know the story behind this photo?”

            He claps his hands together, laughing, “Yeah!”

            Pearl stands back up and takes off her apron, hooking it where it belongs. Then, she offers to pick Steven up, and he giggles happily, stretching out his arms to make it easier.

            They begin the walk up to his room.

            “Now, according to humanity, the first photo was taken in the 1800’s by a man named  Nicéphore Niépce. However, earlier…”

            Steven listened, pressing his cheek against Pearl’s shoulder happily. He liked it when Pearl talked about things, he didn’t always understand, but she was always willing to talk to him. It was nice.

            “Anyway! So we help this person put up a mirror and then we celebrate. Or Rose celebrates, I’m not one for parties.”

            Oh dear, he missed a few words. That’s all right, Pearl won’t mind.

            “And Rose can’t get drunk, so she wins the contest. This guy thinks she’s cheating, and I mean she kind of is, but he knew before hand. I tried to tell him, but he was already inebriated and wouldn’t listen. Anyway, she won and every else is cheering, while I’m just standing there wondering how your mother and I became friends in the first place.”

            He wonders what some of those words mean; he should remember to ask Pearl later.

            “Next morning, after what happened, Rose and I meet this fellow’s cousin. He’s rather brilliant really. I enjoyed his company, and he knew his science as far as humanity had discovered so far. Rose was less enthused than I to talk about things like the latest planet discovery, but it was so much fun! She didn’t want to deprive me when I had sat and listened to _dozens_ of drunk lads try to convince her to have sex with them.”

            She doesn’t sounds quite like his Pearl right now. She’s a little far away, her eyes glowing but still not quite showing her presence. They’re climbing the stairs, and she’s going on muscle memory.  An accent begins to form beneath her words, but it’s nice. Soothing even.

            “In return for showing him the light in the darkness that was modern science, he wanted to give us something in return. Of course, Rose wanted nothing and I couldn’t think of anything he had to give, so we just waved away his suggestion that he might give us something. Then, this man takes out this old box. He said he’s been working on developing something that could freeze a moment. Keep it as a memory, and of course Rose and I knew that was what photography was. Our own species had gone through the development process, but we didn’t want to push humanity’s growth. They had to come along on their own, that’s what Rose said, so…”

            They are at his bed and Pearl sits down with him still curled against her, he is content to stay here and listen to her story.

            “I fixed it without him knowing, Rose insisted, and then voila! The first photograph taken by a human. It was really something.”

            She’s smiling that smile, he’s seen it a couple times. It makes her whole face glow, makes her skin warmer, and he just wants to snuggle in a little more. He’s soft and warm, tired, and Pearl is the perfect person to sleep on.

            “Come on Steven,” She lifts him off her shoulder, and he blinks himself a little bit more awake, “I didn’t mean to bore you. Let’s get you in bed.”

            She tucks him in, grabbing a stuffed animal that was within her arm’s reach for him to curl up with. Then, she pets his hair, just a little bit, and murmurs good night.

            “Thank you for the story, mom,” He mumbles, almost under his breath.

            Then he’s asleep, and Pearl is watching him, eyes wide and fingers grasping at nothing in the air. She’s still sitting on his bed, surrounded by things Steven owns. He lives here for the most part, his dad visiting and making sure that he stayed present in Steven’s life. There are stuffed animals, a couple dolls, even a TV with some VCR tapes beside it. He always thanked them, just like his dad had taught him.

            She realized it’s the first time since Rose left that she’d not felt guilty about loving Steven. It just was. She loved him, as his dad probably did, and those words felt like they were the only thing that mattered.

            “Your welcome, Steven,” She whispers, pressing a kiss to his forehead. She’d have to explain that she wasn’t his mom… later.

 


End file.
